300,000 more UK children fell into absolute poverty at height of cost of living crisis

About 300,000 more children were plunged into absolute poverty in a single year at the height of the cost of living crisis amid soaring levels of hunger and food bank use, official figures show, prompting calls for an overhaul of the UK’s creaking welfare safety net.

The figures show the reality of increasing concerns over rising poverty, and the prevalence of more extreme forms of hardship such as destitution, where individuals are unable to afford basic living essentials such as food, energy, bedding and clothing.

Alison Garnham, the chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “ In a general election year, nothing should be more important to our political leaders than making things better for the country’s poorest kids.

The work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, acknowledged the “last few years have been tough” but claimed falling inflation coupled with a range of tax and benefit measures would provide support to people on low incomes.

“The government’s short-term interventions to date haven’t stopped the incomes of poorer households from being swallowed up by the soaring cost of essentials,” said Peter Matejic, the chief analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Alison McGovern, the shadow welfare secretary, said: “We’ll fix this Tory failure yet again with a new cross-government child poverty strategy.”